Mashiro Kuna
is the former lieutenant of the 9th Division under Kensei Muguruma, and is currently the member of the Vizards. Appearance Mashiro is one of the more outlandishly dressed Vizards, wearing a white bodysuit with orange gloves, boots and scarf, finished off with goggles atop her vivid green hair. Her overall style of dress is reminiscent of the costumes worn by the tokusatsu superheroes in late 1950s Japanese television shows, perhaps meant to be a reference to her childish personality. Her outfit is also quite appropriate, considering that her hollow mask looks insect-like. Her outfit could be seen as insect-like, with the goggles representing eyes and the stripes on her midsection representing bug legs. During her days as a lieutenant she wore a basic Shinigami uniform but with very long sleeves, a pink scarf and glasses perched atop her wavy hair. Personality The most childish of the Vizards, Mashiro is a rather air-headed and ditsy girl who rarely takes note of the bigger picture around her and is prone to throwing fits over the smallest of things, such as Orihime Inoue befriending Hachigen Ushōda or when Kensei insisted on following his subordinates into battle. Her almost idiotic personality frequently irritates her former captain Kensei, who has noted she is capable of annoying him even while asleep (shown that his division had to hold him back constantly from trying to kill her). She often calls Ichigo "Berry-''tan''" (Carrot-Top in the English dub anime, Berry Boy in the English manga), a play on Ichigo's name. She seems to be good friends with Hachi, instantly disliking it when Orihime befriends him. History Former Lieutenant of the 9th Division, Mashiro followed her Captain Kensei while he was investigating mysterious disappearances in Rukongai. Later she and the others were ambushed by a masked Kaname Tōsen, and as a result, the two were transformed into half-hollows. Though several other Shinigami led by Shinji Hirako attempted to restrain Mashiro and Kensei, they too were attacked and transformed prior to the arrival of Kisuke Urahara and Tessai Tsukabishi who intervened to stop Sōsuke Aizen and his Hollowfication experiments. Mashiro, like all the other transformed Shinigami, was sentenced to be exterminated as she was now a hollow. However, she was rescued by Yoruichi Shihōin and transferred into a Gigai made by Urahara. She later escaped to the real world, together with the other Vizards, where she trained in order to learn how to master her new hollow powers. Mashiro kept her mask on for the longest amount of time out of all of the Vizards and, as such, she did not need to endure rigorous training in order to be able to maintain her hollow form. Synopsis Arrancar arc She is seen along with the other Vizards when Ichigo Kurosaki arrives at their warehouse to learn how to control his inner hollow. When his inner hollow emerges during Ichigo's fight with Hiyori Sarugaki, she, along with the rest of the Vizards, moves in to restrain Ichigo before he can kill Hiyori, a rather serious moment for her in contrast to her usual bubbly, goofy, immature personality. She later watches (and presumably fights) Ichigo while he is in his inner world to control his inner hollow, which he succeeds in subduing him. She is at first startled when Orihime Inoue enters the Vizards' warehouse, but is soon annoyed by her when Hachigen Ushōda begins taking an interest in her. Later, when Ichigo and his friends leave for Hueco Mundo, she picks up an unknown package (which is really from Ichigo), which she gives to Shinji. Fake Karakura Town arc thumb|190px|"Mashiro Kick!" She is seen with the other Vizards, preparing to join the fight with the Espada, although as to what actions they will take remains unclear. She is then seen with the rest of the Vizards arriving at the fake Karakura Town, intercepting Aizen, Gin, and Tōsen's release from Yamamoto's fire prison. As the giant Hollow unleashes a horde of Gillian menos, Mashiro, along with the rest of the Vizard, dons her mask and begins to battle the Menos. Mashiro displays her increased physical strength by defeating the Menos using her Mashiro Kick.Bleach manga - Chapter 366 page 09-10. After Kensei kills the last Gillian, she faces Wonderweiss Margera and the giant Hollow, attacking the latter with her "Mashiro Super Kick", seemingly killing it. Wonderweiss is angered by Mashrio killing its pet and prepares for battle. Mashiro kicks him with both legs into a building, much to Gin's amusement.Bleach manga, chapter 367, page 14-16 Powers & Abilities Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: While in the advanced state of hollowfication, Mashiro had proven to be quite aggressive as well as highly proficient in hand-to-hand combat. Using her skill and agility in this area by launching a devastating attack against then 3rd Division Captain Rōjūrō Otoribashi. She also has displayed her skill in hand-to-hand combat while fighting multiple Gillian-class Menos at once. Mashiro seems to favor kicking as her primary method of attack, as shown by her Mashiro Kick and Mashiro Super Kick techniques. Zanpakutō Like in the case of many of her fellow Vizards, virtually nothing is known about Mashiro's Zanpakutō, although it has a rectangular tsuba (with circles on each corner of the rectangle click here to view a look a-like of Mashiro's Zanpakutō not 100% accurate http://www.swordsofmight.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=723) and she carries it around in her hands. She has never be seen using her Zanpakutō in combat. While fighting the Gillians in Fake Karakura Town, she discards her still sheathed ZanpakutōBleach manga, chapter 366, pages 2-3 and engages the Gillians unarmed. *'Shikai': Not Yet Revealed *'Bankai': Not Yet Achieved Hollowfication ]] When transformed into a hollow, her mask remains the same as in her Vizard form, instead of covering her entire head as it usually does with a normal hollow transformation(though this could be due to some resisting on her part). Her legs are transformed, gaining an insect like appearance, and possess great strength and speed, making her jumps seem like flight. Vizard Hollow Mask: She seems to be quite in touch with her inner Hollow since she was able to maintain her Hollow mask for fifteen hours on her first attempt, which means she did not need to train like the other Vizards. Her mask resembles that of a hornet or a bee.Bleach manga; chapter -101, page 12 *'Power Augmentation:' The transformation of her legs gives them great strength and speed. While being a hollow, her attacks seem to focus almost exclusively on powerful kicks. This increase in power and style is carried over to her Vizard powers to where she can break a Gillian mask with a single kick,Bleach Manga - Chapter 366; Page 09 and presumably destroy Fūrā with a single kick. Trivia *Her Hollow Mask and fighting style resembles the Kamen Rider series. *She is often seen with some kind of lenses on top of her head. Back when she was a lieutenant, she had glasses, where as a Vizard, she has goggles. However, these disappear after she puts on her Hollow mask. *She is one of the three characters who prefer to fight with hand-to-hand combat than with a sword. The other two are Soifon and Yoruichi Shihōin. *She is the only Vizard to keep her mask on after killing the Gillians in Fake Karakura. *She is the only Vizard whose Captain is also a Vizard. *She is the only Vizard who didn't take the training for longer mask time. *She can hold her mask longer than any known Vizard. Quotes *(To Kensei Muguruma) "Kensei, you grouch! You're a jerk!" *"Kensei, you pervert." *"Yippie! I love you Kensei!" *"Yay! Victory!" References Navigation Category:Characters Category:Shinigami Category:Shinigami Lieutenants Category:Female Category:Vizard Category:Former Shinigami Lieutenants Category:Exiled Shinigami